


Red with clay, or into fire

by grit



Series: Strength Tells Many Stories [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto)-centric, Fix-It, Fluff, For Want of a Nail, Friendship, Gen, Genin Era, Growing Up, Haruno Sakura-centric, Strong Haruno Sakura, Team as Family, this is really cute i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-14 13:23:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14770436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grit/pseuds/grit
Summary: Headstrong, carrying her heart on her sleeve: Sakura is a smart and driven child who will fight for what's hers.Or: Sakura gets a personality, Naruto some friends and Sasuke a childhood.





	1. Three

**Author's Note:**

> title + summary changed, chapters edited (14/10/18)  
> beta read by [cat.](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanothercatgirl) thank you! (27/12/18)  
>  
> 
> 'Red with clay, or into fire.' is a line from [a poem by W. D. Snodgrass.](http://english.emory.edu/classes/paintings&poems/snodgrass.html) It is based on the painting "The Red Studio" by Henri Matisse. 
> 
> I chose it to symbolize both the Will of Fire and the way it manifests in people, Sakura specifically.
> 
>  

Sakura grows up with a fierce desire to protect.

 

She is restless, always moving her hands, her legs, her thoughts.

 

Her new Jounin-sensei blinks lazily at her. “You go first, pinky.”

 

Sakura stiffens at the nickname. She's been teased before about her less than practical hair colour. That doesn't mean she should be written off as a Shinobi. “My name is Haruno Sakura,” she says pointedly, not quite able to sit still. “ _Please_ call me Sakura-san. I like books and track. I hate... perverts." She shakes off her irritation at the nickname he gave her. "My dream is to become a Jounin and protect Konoha.” She runs her fingertips through her hair. They rest over her headband for a moment as she thinks of the people in this village. Her family, of course. Ino-chan. Her tag team. The old shopkeeper who always gives her sweets when she buys something.

 

These people, Sakura believes in them. She traces that thought fondly to its conclusion, lowering her left hand to rest in her lap. _Her_ people are all worth fighting for.

 

“Maa, Sakura- _chan._ We’re all friends, aren’t we?” The man's voice is light and playful, tethering on the edge of dismissive.

 

Sakura clenches her hands. Before she can think of a way to subtly show him that she feels uncomortable with him addressing her with so much familiarity when she doesn't even know his name, the Jounin motions for Naruto to introduce himself.

 

“I am Uzumaki Naruto! I like orange and Ramen and the old man Hokage! I don’t like waiting three minutes for my Ramen to get done. Oh, and the bastard. My dream is to be Hokage, believe it!” The blonde shoves his right fist forward. He keeps his eyes trained on the Jounin during his declaration, daring him to mock him. It's hard to miss the stubbornness set in the lines of his face, given that he's shouting at the top of his lungs. 

 

“You do realize we’re sitting right next to you,” Sasuke-kun mutters under his breath, loud enough for Sakura to catch it. Their eyes meet and he quickly looks away, raising his voice. “My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don’t particularly like anything and I hate most things. My dream... no, my ambition, is to kill a certain man and restore my clan.”

Sakura freezes. She never heard his voice laced with so much hatred.

 

“Why do I always get stuck with the headcases?” The Jounin bemoans, reaching into his pouch to pull out a book. “Not cute.”

 

Her teeth clash against each other. The boys stare at their new teacher, offense skittering across their faces.

 

She shifts impatiently.

 

His voice grows cold, professional detachment ringing true in his statement. “I am not going to bother telling you my name. If you’re worth anything as Shinobi, you can find that out yourself. To make it short: You aren’t Genin yet.” The man keeps his eyes trained on the page he's opened.

 

A shiver runs through Sakura, hot and cold at the same time. She has been stuck in a classroom with two ticking time-bombs for hours on end, waiting for an underwhelming introduction and to be told that she did not make Genin yet.

 

Naruto goes off first. “What the hell?!” he shouts aggressively, pointing an accusing finger at the man.

 

Sasuke scowls, which is as close to verbal approval as Naruto will ever get.

Sakura's hands are still shaking.

 

The Jounin swiftly ignores them. “Meet me tomorrow at dawn. You have until then to figure out where. We’ll see if you’re cut out to be Shinobi. Personally,” his voice drops into a mock-whisper, and he makes sure to glance at all of them, “I don’t think you are.” He waves cheerfully and in the next moment, he’s gone in a whirlwind of leaves.

 

Sakura scoffs at his blatant dismissal. She'll show him. But for now she's stuck with two moody boys. _Great._

 

Admittedly, she did feel disappointed when Naruto was assigned to her team. He is brash and dumb and loud - obnoxiously so. Sakura doesn't know enough about him to properly gauge his skills and personality beyond that. He has always been the comic relief for their class, but these roles tend to be defensive constructs. She wonders what's underneath.

 

And her other teammate – Sasuke. Sakura’s opinion on him is divided. On the one hand, she really does have better things to waste time on, seeing how she should be training hard to protect the people around her. On the other, staring at him is strangely therapeutic.

 

It hasn't quite sunken in yet, but that's her new team. _A team is like a second family._ Or the first, she mentally corrects, thinking of how lonely her new teammates must be. Suddenly she feels the overwhelming urge to tackle them in a hug. Family. She'll be damned if she can't become friends with the two boys. “What now?” She asks. “Should we go ask Iruka-sensei which training grounds we got assigned? He probably knows.” Sasuke-kun doesn't spare her a glance, rises to his feet and leaves without a word. Sakura deflates and Naruto glares daggers at his back.

 

They sit in silence for a bit while Sakura thinks.

 

“Hey, hey, Sakura-chan! Want to go have lunch with me?” Naruto blushes brightly. He beams at her, having gathered enough courage to ask her out.

 

She twitches. Him liking her like that won't do. “Please call me Sakura-san.”

 

Naruto pouts. “But Sakura-chan sounds prettier and uhm – that’s more like you!”

 

She grins impishly, flexing her muscles threateningly. Naruto gulps. She giggles. Maybe she's been too serious before. Maybe he will grow out of his crush once they get to know each other better. "Sure, Naruto," she says slowly, assessing how smoothly it rolls from her lips, “let's hang out and become friends!”

 

Naruto stares at her in disbelief. She pulls him after her, setting the familiar pace of a sprint. “Come on, Naruto! We will have to catch Sasuke-kun first and we don't have all day.” 

 

Her cheerful voice seems to get a rise out of him because he jerks his hand back and shoots past her, leaps brimming with excitement. “Last one to get to Sasuke is a slowpoke!” He shouts.

 

Joy spreads through Sakura's chest, wrapping around her heart like a blanket.

 

Too bad Naruto has no clue where Sasuke-kun likes to spend his afternoons training. She quickly races past Naruto, even though she could have just let him run into the wrong direction. That would have been no fun.

 

Sakura runs through the village, Naruto on her heels. She sends the people whom they pass apologetic looks for disturbing their peace. She almost crashes into a wall twice doing so. Whoops.

 

Then Naruto trips over a stray cat, hitting the ground. She pivots on her heel and runs back to him, crouches down only for hin to brush her help off with a sheepish smile. Sakura rolls her eyes – boys – and chucks her water bottle at him. “Drink up,” she tells him, and once he's done she snatches it from his grasp. “Better?” she asks.

 

He nods, oddly quiet.

 

Sakura’s eyes linger on him for a moment before she abruptly takes off again.

 

They're both sprouting grins when they stumble onto Sasuke.

 

Sakura is impressed by Naruto's stamina. She shifts her attention to her other teammate, who's obsessively pummelling a tree. “Sasuke-kun,” she greets half-jokingly, a dramatic quality to the tone of her voice, “your team needs your help on an important mission." Softly, she adds: "Are you really going to turn your back on us?”

 

Naruto nods furiously, arms crossed. “Sakura-cha... san is right! You're a bastard, but we're a team – hang on, Sakura-chan! We don't need him!"

 

Sakura winks at him. “As a matter of fact, team members balance each other out so that Genin squads can face bigger threats. So it makes sense for us to work together.”

 

Sasuke-kun scoffs, his punches chipping away at the bark. “You're supposed to help me be stronger!? You're both liabilities,” he says derisively.

 

Naruto reels. “No, we're not. I'm not weak and Sakura-san is smart and pretty and fast! And pretty!”

 

Sasuke-kun stops and turns around to look at them. His eyes are cold, but there's a red rim around them. He looks like he cried earlier. “You can't ever understand what –"

 

Sakura doesn't think. She crosses the distance between them and pulls him into a hug. Her heart beats faster in her chest, but this isn't about her.

 

He struggles against it, but her embrace is stubborn and firm. “Let – let go of me, Sakura!”

 

Sakura doesn't let go. “We're a team now, Sasuke.” She shifts her weight on impulse and hauls them into Naruto's arms. 

 

Naruto laughs, bewildered. “It’s not important – what our stupid teacher says. We will pass that test and we'll be Shinobi of the Leaf, believe it! And then we’ll work together to make our dreams come true, Sakura! Bastard!”

 

Sasuke goes limp in their arms. He doesn't return the hug, but he doesn't struggle against it anymore. Sakura counts this as a win. “...Your breath smells like dirt, deadlast.”


	2. Pattern

The awkward silence after the hug is still prominent when Sakura’s brain jolts awake.

 

It's a victory in itself that they’re all still in the clearing.

 

Sasuke’s legs dangle from a tree branch. Through elevation he has put distance between himself and them, aggressively sharpening his kunai with a whetstone. He has a precise elegance to the sharp draw of his arm and a feverish glint in his eyes.

 

Sakura hums, in equal parts worried and appreciative. “It’s getting late. I don’t think Iruka-seinsei’s still at the Academy.” She rises, turning to Naruto. “You don’t happen to know where he lives, do you?”

 

Naruto is sprawled out on the ground, hair as messy and dirty as the rest of his appearance. He shakes his head. “Why would you think so, Sakura-san?”

 

She offers him a shrug, feet tracing lines in the sand. “That would have been too easy, huh. ” She tilts her head. “Because Sasuke-san would never approach a teacher like you do. It’s very unlikely that he knows anything about Iruka-sensei’s personal life.”

 

Naruto stares at her, bewildered. Sakura flushes in embarrassment. “He likes to keep things professional,” she adds quickly.

 

Sasuke grunts approvingly.

 

Naruto flips into a handstand, slowly placing his feet on the ground again. Sakura is still taller than him, which pleases her a great deal. “So now what?” he asks eagerly.

 

“We're three,” Sasuke helpfully points out from above them. When no one reacts, he scoffs and flicks his wrist. Three kunai embed themselves deep into the center of three circles drawn in the dirt within the fraction of a second. 

 

Sakura's eyes widen. She slaps her palm against her forehead. _Why didn't she think of this before?_ “There’s power in numbers," she says out loud. "We can all try a different thing that might give us a chance to figure out this stupid test.”

 

Naruto jumps in excitement. “I know, I know! I can make clones!”

 

Sasuke snorts, landing in a crouch next to them. “You can’t make a clone for the life of you, dead last,” he drawls, shifting into an alert fighting stance.

 

Naruto bares his teeth, hands balled into fists. “Not true! I can make tons of clones at once!” 

 

In an instant she’s between the two, arms spread wide apart on both ends. She’s getting tired of their endless bickering. “Calm down, boys. We have –”

 

Sasuke ignores her, looks beyond her. “Prove it then, loser.” His voice is mocking.

 

Naruto’s mouth twists in grim determination as he gently shoves her aside. Sasuke eyes him disdainfully. Naruto roars. “I’ll show you, believe it!” They charge at each other, both forming seals.

 

Sakura knocks their heads together, exasperated. “This is not a pissing contest,” she tells them. “Are you going to keep squabbling like five year-olds or are you going to help me get on top of this?”

 

They ruefully rub their heads, subconsciously mirroring each other.

 

Her boys, Sakura decides, are terrible, and much more alike than they’d care to admit. 

 

She drops down next to them and grabs a stick. Then she etches the word ‘PLAN’ into the ground.

 

“Great,” she assesses. “Let’s brainstorm.”

* * *

She moves past the library reception, lips ticked upward in a faint smile. Surrounded by books Sakura feels at home. She wanders through the hallway and holds her breath when she enters the Genin section for the first time in her life.

 

The room is big and and round, and Sakura can just barely make out the ceiling. She shakily releases her breath. She's in a tower!

 

She also has company.

 

A brunette girl with red triangles decorating her cheeks and an Anbu member eye her fleetingly. Sakura's heart skips a beat when the Inuzuka winks at her and casually walks up the wall. She climbs higher and higher until she stops and reaches out above. The air _ripples_ around her hand and the girl slips through.

 

Sakura can't see her anymore – the layer must prevent it.

 

Which makes it a barrier. A startled laugh escapes her – ingenious!

 

Does it separate Genin from Chunin and Chunin from Jonin? That would explain the Anbu agent. She eyes him warily and freezes when he turns his head to return her stare with icy grey eyes. Scary!

 

Sakura shakily breathes out, reminding herself of the matter at hand: She has a mission to complete. She sends the agent her most charming smile. Then she shifts her attention to the books in front of her. There doesn’t seem to be a particular order to them. Frowning, she steps closer to a shelf to examine them.

 

Sakura blankly stares at the authors’ names and the titles. Huffing, she pulls out a random book and opens it. 

 

The title on the cover doesn’t match the one inside.

 

Of course! The book titles must be coded to make it harder for intruders to obtain information. She bets the codes and the placements change frequently. Genin might be of the lowest Shinobi rank, but they still deal with potentially threatening intelligence. So their sources must be secure. 

 

For example, sources that map out the entirety of Konoha! Village layouts, coincidentally just what she is looking for, can give intruders a deciding edge.

 

Konoha realises how much of an advantage access to books really is and efficiently ties up loose ends. No wonder they have an Anbu guard stationed here. Sakura is impressed and proud to be part of this village.

 

Well, at least the pattern is numerical, that much she can tell from shuffling through the books. She puts her hair into a loose bun to get it out of the way, determined to break this code.

 

It's not long until she figures out that the third syllable of the author’s first name refers to a topic that is being covered. Sakura pouts. It really doesn't take much to get the hang of that. Clearly Konoha underestimates the value of a difficult code.

 

Naruto's face skitters across her mind.

 

On _second_ thought, some Genin probably have a hard time figuring this out. The whole purpose of a library is to supply people with information, not to withhold it.

 

Still, she would have loved a bigger challenge.

 

Sakura braces herself. She moves towards to the one spot on ground level she hasn't covered yet. “Anbu-san? Can you do me a favor and step aside? I need to have a look at the books behind you.“ Wordlessly, the eerie figure slips away.

 

She frowns at the books. These books… Their authors‘ names only have two syllables.

 

She shrugs, temptation getting the better of her, and opens one of them.

 

Its pages are blank.

 

Sakura is intrigued -- and torn. Should she try to solve this mystery? Or finish up as quickly as possible so her team can plot for tomorrow?

 

With the firm intent to come back later to investigate, she finishes rounding up all the books about Konoha that she can find.

 

It's a good thing that she's looking for a map, because otherwise it would take even longer to get to what she needs.

 

Sakura doesn't even sit down at one of the beautifully crafted wooden tables, briefly wondering if the Shodaime created them. She caresses the smooth edges, marvelling at the intricate design of the table she has stacked the books on.

 

She quickly flips through them. Sakura feels sorry for not appreciating them as they are meant to be, but she's really only looking for a map.

 

She doesn't find one that includes the training grounds.

 

Grumbling, she shelves the books away, glad that she at least remembers where she took them from.

 

 _Now_ she slumps down on a chair. She can't find anything useful and she _bets_ Sasuke-kun and Naruto are already done with their tasks.

 

Research is supposed to be her strength!

 

If only she can walk up the walls like the other girl did –

Hang on. What if she _can?_ This is a more or less public library after all so the skill must be universal. When Sakura thinks about it, most Shinobi travel on rooftops. They have to get up there somehow.

 

So it's not too difficult to learn. Most of that which makes up what Sakura assumes to be the Genin section is beyond her reach. So Genin learn it, too!

 

The way the Inuzuka approached it reminds her of the leaf exercise she was taught at the academy – a skill she never had difficulties applying. Sakura opens her tie, the weight of her hair settling comfortably on her shoulders. She is set on figuring this out.

 

Technically, the girl must have simply stuck her feet with chakra to the wall. So her feet – no, the bottom of her feet – must have been coated in chakra. Sakura places her hands on the table and tries to recreate the feeling she has performing the leaf exercise. The wood is her leaf. She keeps trickling chakra to her hands, making sure that she doesn't use more than needed and keeps the supply at a steady level. Just as she thought, her palms are glued to the table.

 

She doesn't feel much like having her hands stuck to the table forever, but she can't get them away! Sakura pulls and pulls, her muscles aching under the strain. She buckles in her seat and the table scratches against the floor, but the hands don't budge. Suddenly she loses balance as they're released. Reflexively she grabs the back of the chair to flip behind it and catch it before it clatters to the ground. Sakura pushes the chair against the table, rewinding what happened in her mind. She started getting frustrated and then she was not stuck to the table anymore. What had changed? Sakura groans. The answer was right in front of her the entire time. Her concentration wavered! She just has to stop the flow of chakra when she wants to remove her hands.

 

Sakura grumbles at her own stupidity and squeaks when she realises that the Anbu agent has been watching her for god knows how long.

 

She flushes, tearing her eyes away from him, and channels chakra to her feet.

 

They stick to the floor.

 

Sakura laughs breathlessly when she takes her first few hesitant steps walking up the bookshelves.


	3. Sign

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three children are dead set on becoming Genin. Sakura is outsmarted by her own imagination.

Light dances across the clearing, leaf-shaped shadows providing cool but brief comfort. Sakura’s clothes are sticky against her skin. Her legs ache and her breath comes in ragged gasps.

 

She is closing in on her thirtieth lap when Naruto's loud shriek makes her trip. She is too tired to dodge the grass. But she has the self-awareness to tumble her way down in a practiced motion that prevents her from getting hurt.

 

She closes her eyes, impressions of colour and language already fading into background noises. The scent of grass lingers.

 

A soaring heat flashes past her and Sakura reels back, scrambling to her feet. “What the hell, Bastard!” Naruto shouts, giving her own thoughts a voice.

 

Sakura breathlessly dodges another fireball from her rapidly approaching teammate. Sasuke-kun comes at her with ridiculously heavy kicks that Sakura barely avoids by substituting herself with a log. She crouches down on a tree branch, reaching for a kunai to defend herself when Sasuke-kun suddenly appears and lunges at her. She leaps up to a higher branch. He stalks her out onto the narrower end, kunai clashing against each other. His face is blank, and when he knocks her kunai out of her hand she can only think this must be him taking revenge for the hug yesterday. Sasuke doesn't stab her. Instead, his lips twist into a satisfied smirk and his kunai glides back into his holster.

 

“I win,” he tells her smugly, voice oozing confidence. She snarls and is about to come at him with her bare hands, even though she knows better than to face off against Sasuke-kun in a Taijutsu match, when he drops back, left foot coming down on the branch with a crunch.

 

It snaps.

 

Sakura uses the momentum to leap onto another tree. Sasuke-kun grunts and follows her. She fends him off for a few seconds before hopping away from him. He sends fire after her. Sakura only avoids it because she slipped and landed on her bum. She gathers her strength and rises to her feet, and quickly realises that she is running out of breath and options when an idea hits her. She turns to face Sasuke-kun. In a flurry of punches and kicks she attempts to put some distance between them, but Sasuke-kun proves to be too strong. He narrowly dodges her strikes and his glancing blows leave her skin aching. She's about to land a satisfying hit when he sweeps her off her feet.

 

She falls sudden and she falls fast. Sakura just manages to shut her eyes in anticipation of the ground.

 

Hatake Kakashi catches her gently and winks at her. Sakura pushes him away, embarrassed, but his grip is like steel, even though he seems to be giving the book in his hands full attention. Sakura briefly makes out the title ‘Icha Icha’ when he glances to his left, shifting his position and obstructing her view. “Pups need to be taught manners first.”

 

She lets out a shaky breath and follows his gaze. Naruto is pulling at Sasuke-kun's hair, who struggles against the blonde. Naruto yelps and leans away but can't quite avoid the fist that plants itself into his face, which sends him tumbling backwards. Sasuke-kun’s trademark smug grin flashes across his face before he too gets dragged to the ground. 

 

“Sasuke, I wasn't finished talking when you rushed off,” the Jounin chirps, grip finally loosening. He unceremoniously drops her and turns a page, feet dragging across the ground as he approaches the boys with a slouch. Everything about his appearance groans ‘heavy', but Sakura knows that shinobi are deceptive by nature. “I see the reports were wrong about your smarts.”

 

“You told us that we're supposed to capture Sakura and then you set a countdown for it!” Naruto protests, cheeks flushed.

 

The man lets out an exasperated sigh and flashes over to him. He proceeds to untangle Naruto's hands from Sasuke's hair, not even looking at the knots, too busy giggling to himself about his book. He snaps it closed and turns serious in an instant. “I wasn't done talking,” he repeats. Then he raises his head and looks her in the eye, tone switching to a mockingly childish whisper. “You were late to our spot, Sakura-chan. I was hurt.”

 

Sakura walks up to him, eyeing Sasuke warily. He seemed very eager to attack her. “I was just using the time you left us waiting productively. Besides, you never said anything about a spot, Hatake-san,” she says, matter-of-fact, her voice only carrying an edge of her frustration. He doesn't pay her attention, cooing at his book instead. Below her, Naruto stirs and scowls, slowly getting up again.

 

The Jounin hums. “I said ten, didn't I?”

 

“No!” Naruto cries out, shoulders shaking. “You didn't say anything! I missed my ramen date with Ayame-nee-chan because of you! We've been here for hours so we wouldn't miss the start of your stupid test and now you're telling us we're not good enough! Well, not telling but uh... we know that you're thinking it!”

 

“Implying?” Sakura offers helpfully, a smile spreading across her face despite herself.

 

Naruto nods furiously. “What she said!”

 

Sakura tunes him out and offers her hand to Sasuke, who calmly flicks a kunai at something next to her feet and forcefully brushes her hand aside. Sakura blinks owlishly at the dead snake in the grass. “It's not venomous,” she tells him.

 

He rolls his eyes and gracefully stands up. “It was annoying,” he says coldly, walking past her. But he can't hide his red ears.

 

Sakura grins. “Sure, Sasuke- _kun!_ ” She teases, heart fluttering in her chest. 

 

Naruto snickers.

 

From the periphery of her vision, Sakura can spy the Jounin making a handsign. A clock appears from the resulting smoke. He waves lazily at it. “This rings when it's noon. Each of you will try to get these two bells from me.” He pulls out two small bells and holds them up. “If you don't have one by noon, you fail. You will come at me with the intent to kill.”

 

Naruto, after a split-second of gaping, howls and charges at him, kunai raised. Suddenly, Hatake has his arm twisted behind his back, the raised right hand in his grasp. Naruto’s eyes are wide. His weapon clutters when it hits the ground, the only noise in the clearing.

 

Hatake breathes close to Naruto's ear, but Sakura can still hear his words clearly from where she's standing. She folds her arms, forcing herself to stop twitching. “I didn't tell you to start yet, did I?” He says and releases Naruto.

 

Sakura's jaw drops open when he casually catches his book once it comes racing down and continues reading. She wants to be able to do that, too! “But there are only two bells,” Sakura reminds herself shakily. “And we're three people.”

 

Hatake Kakashi quips her an amused smile. “Yes.”

 

Then he spits a wave of water at them.

 

Sakura hurries to get out of the stream's path and barely avoids it. Once it stops Hatake smiles cheerfully at them. Sasuke is hovering on the edge of the treeline, Naruto has been drenched in water and propelled into some bushes. “Begin,” their proctor tells them.

 

Sakura doesn't waste any time. She runs like hell is on her heels and doesn't look back. Past the treeline, through the undergrowth and up the trees. She leaps from branch to branch, higher and higher, until she's satisfied with the distance she’s put between herself and the clearing. She gives herself a moment to catch her breath and doubles back. Good thing, Sakura thinks as she twists through the air, that she's done her stretches already.

 

She pauses once she reaches a good vantage point. From up here, she can spot Naruto -- a flash of orange far, far below her. She flops down to lean against the trunk. She's noticed some tension in her calves on her way, and lets her hands do the work.

 

The circles she draws spiral into ragged lines as Sakura's mind grows hazier. She's tired and her limbs feel heavy but she clings onto her determination. She will not fail this test!

 

At some point she stops massaging her legs and rises to her feet, in the hope that being on the move will help her stay awake. She didn't sleep last night, so she's not surprised that it pulls at her, lulling her in its embrace. Her world begins to blur.

 

She forces herself to fall into a run. Her legs are still aching, but it's little more than a faint buzz when she jumps from branch to branch. She descends slowly, not trusting herself to keep up the precision required for tree hopping. When she reaches the ground, she lets out a breath she hasn't realised she's been holding. She feels vulnerable, unease gnawing at her, telling her that something is irrevocably wrong.

 

Has she been lured into a trap? Before she can wrap her mind around that thought, a voice startles her.

 

“Sakura-chan!” Her mother calls.

 

It's everything that Sakura connects to home, and she wants to follow it. But she's on a mission, a mission to become a Genin and a Kunoichi. A mission to grow up. So she walks away from it until the voice grows fainter.

 

“Help me,” it groans hoarsely from behind her.

 

Sakura snaps around and freezes, horrified. Her mother is lying in a puddle of her own blood, hands clutching the deep wound in her stomach. Sakura runs towards her. “Sa...ku...ra,” she hears her whimper.

 

She reaches out for her. Her mother's head snaps around and she sees her face for the first time.

 

It's blank. Sakura screams.

 

The impact knocks all air out of her.

 

Reality warps around her and peels away to reveal Naruto's teary eyes, a desperate expression on his face. “Sakura-chan! Are you okay? You were cutting your legs, and I tried calling you but you wouldn't answer – so I started shaking you and shaking you and then you screamed and fell from the tree and hit the ground and then you wouldn't _move_ and I thought – I thought...”

 

“I'm fine,” she insists and sits up, wincing at the sharp pain at the back of her head.

 

Naruto glanced at her legs, and she follows his gaze. Shallow cuts decorate them and blood is smeared across her skin, mixed with dirt and blades of grass.

 

Naruto doesn't let it go. “What _happened?”_

 

She looks away. “Genjutsu.”

 

Naruto pulls her to her feet and into a hug. “I don't know what that is, Sakura-chan. But I'm with you now.”

 

She relaxes and takes in his scent. It's musky with a tinge of spices. Salt and soy sauce. She smiles. Him and his Ramen. Her voice is soft. “Thank you.”

 

High above the tree tops, the sky darkens. They slowly let go of each other. Sakura nods at Naruto, who promply climbs the tree she fell from. She pulls out her first aid package, hisses when she disinfects the cuts and wraps bandages around her legs. Naruto lands next to her in a crouch. “It's time,” he tells her. “Are you sure?”

 

She grins. “Of course. I didn't spend the night with you guys just to stop at the first sign of trouble. The plan still stands.”

 

Something in her gaze must have changed, because Naruto's eyes soften and he laughs. "Way to go, Sakura-chan! You're so cool!"

 

She shakes her head and punches him. "Good luck," she tells him after he disappears in smoke.


	4. Clock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three would-be Genin face the bell test, way in over their heads. Sakura sits down with Kakashi for a talk.

Her legs still hurt when she puts pressure on them, but she grits her teeth and presses forward. When she reaches for a kunai, Sakura notices she's been digging her fingernails deep into her palms. She quickly shoves her hands into her pockets, her throat constricting, and forces the image of her dying mother out of her mind. Her mother is safe, her mother is at home, and her mother will make her favourite meal today in celebration of her officially making the team. Step by step, Sakura is getting closer to making that team a reality.

 

The wood grows denser and the sunlight dimmer, warm-hued colours only occasionally breaking through. Her eyes are kept carefully on track while she concentrates on her chakra and feels. She listens attentively to its rhythm and then makes its flares smaller and smaller, grimacing under the strain. It’s difficult, but she keeps it under wraps while trying not to misstep. She knows that Hatake Kakashi is an elite Shinobi. One mistake, and he’ll get her for real.

 

It’s the stray thought that she wouldn’t even see an attack from a Jounin coming that allows her to release her breath and relax her hands. Oddly detached, she realises that she must rely on common sense. Panic and anxiety won’t help her prove herself.

 

Sakura manages to get to her vantage point without being spotted, at least as far as she’s aware of. It’s a tree she idly nicknamed _Control Room_ on a childish whim, mainly to rub it in the boys’ faces that she’s the one who came up with the plan. She winces when she trickles chakra into her feet, and calmly walks around the tree branch, defying physics with her chakra control. Upside down makes for an angle she has to get used to, but Sakura can’t help but grin, because the sense of achievement lingers. She made it.

 

She knows that it’s impossible to see her from where the others will be. The trees in between have thick-leafed branches and she can’t spot anything through them either. That’s why she chose this spot. She plastered mirrors to a different tree further south that face the agreed upon spot. Through them, she can see what’s happening without running risk of discovery, and potentially interfere if things go sideways.

 

She waits patiently for her teammate to arrive.

 

Naruto honors his reputation by making a flashy appearance, dropping from the sky, hands forming a sign. It is almost comical in its suddenness. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” He shouts, a strained edge to his voice, and a heap of clones pop up below him. They cushion his fall and stop his momentum, but Naruto barely has time to catch his breath before his opponent is onto him. 

 

He frantically leaps to the side as the Jounin’s jutsu barrels down on him, and scrambles to his feet while it is still crackling bright against the ground. Hatake flickers into her vision before he disappears again in a burst of speed, steering her frenzied teammate into her blind spot.

 

Sakura can’t make herself taller to see from a different angle anyway, so she sends a quick prayer that nothing goes awry, and focuses on her pulsating legs, quickly replacing her thin improvisational bandages with clean ones. Glancing at the mirror, she notes that they haven’t reappeared yet. But she can hear Naruto blabbing on about his Will of Fire, so he should be doing just fine. An idea flashes through her mind, and she berates herself for not thinking of this sooner. Instead of throwing the old bandages away, neglect that could help Hatake track her if the plan goes wrong but she manages to retreat, she ties them around her arms, taking care to make the bloodstains appear as obvious as possible. That should take attention away from her legs and it will be misleading the Jounin into believing that her arms are hurt.

 

When she turns her attention to the mirror barely two minutes have passed, but Naruto looks much worse for wear. His cheek is bruised, and he nestles his left hand close to his chest. He ducks under a swing of Hatake’s right hook, evading the blow by a hair’s breadth, his movement awkward, sloppy and very unlike him. He may be careless and direct, but his movements are fluid and not jerky like that. As Naruto curses and scuttles out of the trajectory of a second fist, Sakura realises two things. One, the Jounin is not only pulling his punches, but adjusting the strength of his attacks to stay just above the strength of his opponent, a stark contrast to him just dispatching them with his ridiculously overkill frontal attacks, as he is known to do. Two, Naruto avoids putting pressure on his left leg and is likely injured there, too.

 

It must be because of something Naruto said to him earlier, and she just hopes he didn’t accidentally give their entire plan away. She clashes her teeth together, thoughts spinning about the implications thereof, but soon dismisses them when he pivots on his heel and lashes out at the Jounin. Naruto wouldn’t. There are more important thing to focus on right now anyway. Ensuring that it doesn’t go too far, and readying herself to step in if Hatake decides to knock Naruto out. Nothing short of that would make Naruto back down. He is nothing if not determined, and that shows in the tensing of his jaw, the wide grin on his lips.

 

He is having _fun,_ confident to hold his own, even handicapped, against the far superior Jounin who seems to be subtly testing his boundaries. 

 

When Hatake decides he has seen enough, four kunai race towards Naruto, snagging the hem of his jumpsuit. He has hauled himself closer into the fight, and surprise wipes the smile off of his face as he is jerked into the opposite direction, getting pinned against a tree. Hatake whips out his novel - she didn’t realise he stuffed it in his pocket before the fight - and approaches him painstakingly slow, insults probably already tripping off his tongue. A recipe for disaster, knowing Naruto.

 

Sakura’s brows furrow in worry. She releases her grasp on the tree she’s dangling from and twists in the air, landing silently on her feet. Hatake hasn’t said anything yet, but Naruto’s ragged breath becomes louder as she paces closer to them in a half circle, hyperaware of her pull on her chakra. She seeks cover behind some shrub, observing them from a small distance. It should allow her to replace herself just in time if Hatake were to notice her, or if he were to make a move towards her teammate.

 

Hatake is not even an arm’s length away from Naruto, nose buried into his book. “Naruto, you really should know by now that I don’t have to pull rank to tackle my problems.” Sakura cringes at the terrible, terrible pun. “You’re not ready to be a Genin, never will be with that attitude.” He lowers his book and stoops down to examine Naruto’s face more closely. “Charging at me directly is not the first bad choice you made, but it’s arguably the worst.” Naruto bares his teeth, snarls, and headbutts Hatake, who reels back, managing to avoid the brunt of it, but Sakura saw the blow connect with his chin. She blinks. That was unexpected.

 

Her growing respect for Naruto is, as is slowly becoming more and more apparent, grounded in reality.

 

“And _your_ worst mistake,” a clone declares proudly from above Naruto, “was to think I’d give up so easily!”

 

He then lets out a rather undignified shriek, diving out of the way of Hatake’s conjured fireball. It flares brightly but dissipates instead of burning the tree and Sakura shakes her head in disbelief. How? Was that a Genjutsu disguised as Ninjutsu?

 

Sasuke-kun steps into her vision. Sakura suppresses a groan. He must have absorbed the fire. She didn’t know he could do that, but she also didn’t know that he was such a show-off. Hatake immediately engages him in a close-quarter fight high above the ground. Sakura watches Naruto’s clone free the real one, yanking out the kunai one by one, dispelling himself as Naruto calmly inspects his wrist. From up close, his bruising arm looks even more painful. She hopes nothing is broken.

 

Naruto grimaces as he strains to bring his hands together for a sign. “Kagebunshin no Jutsu,” he whispers, nodding to his clones. They spread out to the edge of the clearing.

 

One of them stumbles close to her location. She sneaks up on him, still paying attention to Sasuke’s fight, the soaring heat blazing above them. A hand over his mouth, she pulls him behind a tree. He struggles against her grip, but goes limp when he sees her face. His eyebrows shoot up.

 

Sakura releases him and flips him off, her lips twisting into an annoyed scowl. He laughs at her silently. She inspects his injured arm carefully, face softening as her eyes track the damage. Sakura shoots him an apologetic look, concentrates and morphs into a copy of Naruto, mindful not to let the small flare of chakra escape from under her skin. It’s not meant to stay confined, so it hurts, but this conversion doesn’t take so much energy as to make it unbearable.

 

Ideally, Naruto would transform into her or she would cast an illusion on him and they would swap places. But neither of them are that skilled, so they mouth each other ‘Good luck’ before the clone distances itself from her. It will dispell itself so that there will be an equal number of clones to the ones Naruto made, but it has to put space between them first. Their teamwork brought them this far, and Sakura won’t chance her discovery now. She wants this too much to just give up, wants to become Genin together with these sad boys from her class. She wants to help them heal and mature, and she knows that this is where her help is needed most at the moment. She wants them to grow and wants to grow with them.

 

She will fight for that right.

 

When she feels the clone disappear, she knows that it’s time. They all gather around the real Naruto, who barks out orders at them. She can tell that he’s looking for her in the crowd, but she doesn’t risk giving herself away. Sasuke and Hatake have leveled down to the ground while their attacks have become increasingly fast and volatile.

 

She surrounds them along with the other clones, making a three-layered chain of Narutos that silently observe the fight as the real Naruto jumps in to join, never one to let himself held back by something as minor as an injury. 

 

She is brimming with energy, but she can’t interfere, not yet, has to wait for an opening.

 

Sasuke lets himself fall to the ground and Naruto propels himself forward to engage with Hatake in Sasuke’s stead. The Jounin lazily deflects his blow, eye sharp and tracking both Naruto and Sasuke, who has reemerged behind him, wielding a kunai and slicing it upward in a precise motion. Kakashi replaces himself with a log and forces Naruto to flip backwards on one hand, narrowly dodging the other boy's sharp blade. Sasuke doesn’t spare him a glance, instead already making handsigns for a fire Jutsu. He mumbles something and gathers a wall of flames in front of himt, sending it rolling towards Hatake. The man yawns and leaps into the air, far, far higher than the wall. Sasuke sways, clearly exhausted, and Hatake lands silently, gracefully, in front of him. Naruto yells, “ **Now!** ” Suddenly, Sakura is moving, carried by a wave of clones whom the Jounin takes care of easily enough, picking them off one by one. But Sasuke’s there too, and so is Naruto, and together they succeed in holding Hatake’s full attention. Hatake slams his elbow into one clone, already spinning and delivering a roundhouse kick at Sasuke, who ducks and tries to grab the leg, missing it narrowly. Naruto sends a kunai flying to Hatake’s ribs in the same moment, and the Jounin snatches it out of the air, thrusting it back at Naruto with much greater speed. He shrieks and manages to duck out of the way, tripping and immediately regretting his sloppiness, as Hatake kicks him, the force behind it vicious.

 

Sakura eyes him sympathetically. Better here than in the field.

 

Hatake sighs and scratches the back of his head. “Are you done?” Then he mutters, “How is it _not_ noon yet?”

 

Several things happen at once:

 

Sasuke jumps, diving at the Jounin. 

 

Naruto howls, launching to his feet, and charges at Hatake, five clones at his beck.

 

Sakura is one of those clones.

 

Hatake sidesteps Naruto’s fists, but Sasuke grazes him with his kunai. He is startled by having managed a shalliw cut, hesitates for just a moment too long, so Hatake catches him off-guard and a jolt of electricity knocks the kunai out of his hand. Sasuke, enraged by this, falls into familiar katas of kicks and palm thrusts. Hatake spins, twists and whirls around, fending off Naruto, Sasuke and two of Naruto’s clones at the same time. But he missteps ever so slightly and places his foot on their trap with an audible ‘click’ among the grunts. Sakura reacts, plunging into the center of the chaos, and releases the henge and the chakra she has been nursing close to her chest for hours. It sends a small shockwave, knocking her teammates to the ground and freezing Hatake for just the second she needs.

 

Her hands curl around the bells and she yanks, retreating as soon as she has them.

 

Hatake Kakashi pins her down with a long stare. Sakura beams at him, all the bitterness at not really being part of the fight washed away. They did it! They actually beat the Bell Test!

 

The Jounin hums thoughtfully. “I assume I’m not supposed to move?”

 

“Naruto left you a nasty surprise there,” Sakura answers happily.

 

He shrugs nonchalantly, hands dropping into his pockets. “So, who gets the bells?” HIs voice is laced with faint amusement.

 

She eyes him warily, unsure of whether he’s going to make another move or not. “Sasuke and Naruto can have them,” she says, words rolling easily off her tongue.

 

Naruto protests, scrambling to his feet. “No way, Kakashi! Gotta admit, they both got better hits in than me!”

 

Sasuke broods, facing away from them. “I did the least.”

 

Hatake sends them all an approving eye-smile and dispels, setting of an explosion of mud, rubber ducks and fish that epically rises to the sky and equally epically splashes to the ground. “Epic,” Naruto whispers despite being at the center of it, and Sakura can’t help but agree. That moment, however, is ruined when Hatake casually presses a kunai to her throat. Sakura gulps.

 

“It’s not noon, is it?” He asks cheerfully, addressing no one in particular.

 

“Wrong,” Sasuke says dramatically as he rises and turns around, having been spared from the fountain by his fast reflexes and a quickly executed replacement Jutsu. He is thrusting the alarm clock forward. True to his word, the alarm goes off. 

 

It’s just her luck that Sakura is still clutching the bells. Kakashi sighs and snags them away, tying them around his belt with one hand, not letting go of Sakura. He fumbles around his head and a moment later, Naruto’s and Sasuke’s eyes are glazed over and they drop like flies to the ground.

 

Sakura shrieks, but Hatake just pats her on the head and releases her.

 

He motions for her to sit in the shadow of a tree further west and she follows him dazedly. They sit, legs crossed. He pulls a scroll out of his flak jacket and makes a hand sign. Three bento boxes appear.

 

He nods towards the bento boxes and Sakura reaches for the left one with the cute paw prints. He chuckles. “I wouldn’t eat that one if I were you.” 

 

Sakura shrugs, taking the one in the middle and sets it beside her. “What about Sasuke and Naruto?”

 

He waves her off and grabs the bento Sakura was about to earlier. “They’ll be fine.”

 

“Now, girlie,” a ruff voice behind her intones. “What on earth goes on inside your head?”

 

Sakura whirls around, squeaks, and falls in love. “Can I pet you?” She asks dreamily.

 

The dog in front of her lets out a bark. “You may give me that food next to you.” He preens. “And I like when Kakashi scratches my back.”

 

She obliges.

 

“Now,” The dog says once he’s eaten. “I’m Pakkun, Kakashi’s nindog. That’s why I got babysitting duty. He sucks at telling pups what he wants to get across, but I’ve actually written a book on scent tracking, so I know a lot of adjectives.”

 

Sakura nods, an image of a pen resting in his paws scuttling through her mind. She glances at Hatake, who has finished his bento and has gone back to reading his book. It sounds very reasonable.

 

“Listen up. “ The nindog’s voice has turned serious, so Sakura braces herself and straightens her spine. 

 

“Rank is not about displays of power, or about how stubbornly persistent you are. It’s about responsibility, skill, usefulness to the pack,” Pakkun explains. 

 

“I’ve been following you three around since yesterday and I know you’re the driving force behind them. I watched you hatch a plan and get the map of the training grounds. I was at your meeting and I know that Naruto pulled the Academy records from Kakashi and students who were assigned to him. That Sasuke found an old bingo book in his clan library, and that Naruto's clones questioned the pups who failed Kakashi’s test.” 

 

He pauses. “I know that Naruto made the traps, and that Sasuke sabotaged the clock. And I know about the fights.”

 

Sakura lowers her gaze mutely. Pakkun begins pacing. “If I asked you who impressed us the most, your name would be the last thing you’d think of. But we’re not little pups with self esteem issues. Don’t make yourself smaller than you are. You orchestrated this. You’re the one who pulled two moody runts into a conversation and made them trust you, and each other, to have their back. That’s much more valuable than any Great Fireball or Clone Jutsu could ever be.”

 

Sakura flushes. Pakkun lies down on his stomach and looks her in the eye. “Don’t get me wrong, Sakura-san. You have a lot to learn. For one, your Genjutsu awareness is a real mess. You didn’t notice the one in the library or the one in the woods.” She frowns. There had been a Genjutsu in the library? “For all your brains, you’re rather daft. Mirrors that you don’t steer with ninja wire or chakra threads? What are you, a civilian? Not to mention you can only do the basics. No real taijutsu, only the academy version. I know you didn’t fight much, but trust me, it shows.” 

 

He flashes her his canines, and she gets the impression that he's dog-smiling. “There’s nothing special about you, but that is one of your biggest strengths, too. You’re a blank slate. That means you have potential.You can become anything your pack needs you to be, and that’s the real mark of a leader.” He gives her a moment to process. Then he adds, “You made some mistakes, sure, and they’d get you killed. But that’s what Kakashi’s here for. To protect you and to teach you.”

 

She doesn’t know what to say to that, so she turns to the Jounin and asks: “Why did you put them in a Genjutsu?”

 

He hums and summond a bottle of Sake from a scroll. He cuts her bandages away and cleans her wounds with it. “They haven’t proven themselves yet, not in the right ways. Plus,” Hatake inclines his head, “what kind of Sensei would I be if I didn’t give all of my cute students the same lessons?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  There are a lot of things Kakashi or Pakkun chose not to comment on, like most things Sasuke or Naruto-related, them knowing his name, what else they got up to and Sakura's closing move. 
> 
>  
> 
> On that, I've been thinking of the creation of Jutsu as similar to chemical reactions. Energy is converted into a different form, and as always, it doesn't completely become that particular form of energy. Some of it is changes into a different form of energy. You see this everywhere. It's why a light bulb gets hot even though its primary function is to provide light.  
>  
> 
> Chakra becomes whatever you mold it to be, but you lose some along the way and release energy. How much depends on your chakra control. Sakura knows that because she's a bookworm and she used that to delayed the release. If any of the other genin had attempted it they wouldn't have been able to hold it for that long for a lack of control. It was a bold move that only worked because she could fully concentrate on it while the others attacked. That, coupled with the sudden appearance of her chakra signature, literally threw them off balance.
> 
>  
> 
> Hope this explains it well enough :')


	5. Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two Genin strike a deal. The third discovers even boring missions can be fun. A man begins to understand what it means to be a teacher, and a girl what she wants her Will of Fire to be.
> 
> or: Pride curls in her belly. They really are becoming a team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, it's been a while! Hope you're doing well & are just as excited for this update as I am! I went over the previous chapters, so they're good for a reread if you lost track of the story while I was gone.
> 
>  
> 
> I took some liberties with the description of the Hokage tower. imo it should be of symbolic importance, both to the past + to intimidate/awe people and leave them open to subtle manipulation. military dictatorship and all.
> 
>  
> 
> this chp is a lot of world-building.  
> it's what we're doing for now until we get to the wave arc. 

Kakashi-sensei doesn’t show up for a while. “I don’t like where this is going,” Sakura says, frowning. She had dragged herself out of bed earlier this morning to complete her run and do her stretches before training was supposed to start. Graduating roused her ambition, taught her what dedication was. Even now she can feel it roaring in her blood, barely contained by the thin spread of skin over her bones. 

 

She knows what’s happening and it's vaguely terrifying. Sakura’s younger carefree days are being outstripped by the reality of what she signed up for. It just hasn’t fully caught up with her yet.

 

Naruto snores loudly next to her. She doesn't bother suppressing her groan and sluggishly rises to her feet, still sore from yesterday. She turns to Sasuke, who guards the branch she supposes he claimed as his own. 

 

“Sasuke,” she begins cautiously, pausing to wait for his reaction. He tilts his head awkwardly to look at her. “Do you mind sparring with me if Sensei isn’t here and Naruto is sleeping? You have the best form and I...”

 

He snorts, batting away her words as if they were flies. “You’re civilian-raised.”

 

She fidgets, thinking of how unfair it is that her childhood is looked down upon. She may not have gotten specialized training ever since she could walk, but her parents love her and they taught her other things, precious things. Swallowing, she looks away. “Yes.”

 

Sasuke scoffs, but there’s no malice behind the sound. “On one condition.” Sakura whips her head around in surprise. Sasuke looks down at her, the barest hint of a smile lifting the corners of his mouth. 

 

“Name it,” she dares him, shifting her weight in anticipation.

 

He smirks, flopping down next to her. “You don’t ever force me into a hug again.” Sakura pouts. It’s an unfortunate request. “Ever,” Sasuke repeats firmly.

 

She sighs, but she already knows her answer. It’s not about what she wants. It’s about them supporting him unconditionally, and Sasuke learning to accept their help. While she thinks hugs would be good for Sasuke, her getting stronger and having his back might be even more important. Sakura strongly believes that if she works hard enough she can make this friendship happen. Either way, this will help her get stronger. Naruto is not in the habit of being awake before 9 am anyway, judging by him periodically skipping classes in the mornings and the way he wheel-barrowed into the clearing two hours ago to drop dead in the centre of it.

 

“Deal,” she says and they press each other’s hands against their throats. It’s an old custom. Shinobi only deal in lives.

 

Sakura feels her heart thumping against her ribs like stone and a fire in her gut.

 

They slowly let go, carefully assessing each other as their hands unclench and withdraw from the fragile spots.

 

Then she gets thoroughly crushed in combat, courtesy of Sasuke Uchiha. 

 

“Ouch.” Sakura grimaces, wincing as she tries to get back up from the tenth-or-so time that Sasuke sent her tumbling to the ground. She’s pretty sure she will have bruises all over tomorrow. “Again,” Sasuke says mercilessly, thoroughly enjoying himself.

 

Sakura, breathlessly unwinding, agrees with Naruto. Sasuke really is a bastard.

 

This time, Sasuke lets her make the first move, easily side-stepping her attack and following up with a lazy kick to her back. She grunts into the grass and just manages to roll to the side, avoiding the jab of his palm to her throat narrowly. Thrusting into the air, Sakura kicks her feet against the back of his knees, jerking his upper body in the opposite direction, and this time it’s Sasuke that goes down. 

 

Sadly, he’s entirely too good at getting back on his feet within the fraction of a second and he doesn’t leave her room to think. He punches her shoulder, light enough not to dislocate it, but strong enough to hurt from where he dislocated it earlier and Sakura readily admits defeat when he presses a kunai against her jugular.

 

They sprawl gracelessly against the logs on the ground and Sasuke wordlessly hands her fresh bandages and a bottle of water. “Thanks,” she says, unscrewing the cap with some difficulties. Her hands are still shaking from the adrenaline rush. 

 

Without prompting, Sasuke lists her the flaws in her fighting. “You think too much,” is what he says first, and Sakura flushes. She knows that, but it’s difficult not to! “It’s not a bad thing if you can apply it well,” he adds quickly, realizing that he’s struck a nerve. 

 

“For that, you’d need to be a lot faster with your attacks and ideally fighting mid-range. You favour your left side too much, and you don't improvise your moves at all. It’s pretty much the same sequence and anyone who fights long enough against you can and will pick up on that. “So you need either more variety or stronger, faster attacks that finish the fight quickly. Ideally both, though. Your punches are strong, but you don’t lead with your body. Or attack much beyond the throat or stomach. And your kicks are easy to predict, so you shouldn’t rely on them as much. I know you’re quick and flexible, but it doesn’t do you much good the way you’re fighting now.”

 

Sakura nods thoughtfully. She’s never heard him say this much in one go. He really seems to want to help her. “Thank you,” she says warmly, and hands him the water, hand lingering for a second on his. They lock eyes. “I really appreciate it.”

 

He shrugs defensively. “You’re my teammate.”

 

Not for the first time Sakura wonders what Kakashi had them see under his Genjutsu.

 

“So,” she says. “Basically I’m missing skill and originality and I need to find a style to match me.”

 

He grunts in affirmation. Sakura rests her chin against her palms. She resolves to train in combat more often now, rather than just running. What good does stamina and speed do if she can’t apply it properly?

 

“Do you have any advice on where to find instructions on styles?” Sakura asks quickly, before she can reign herself in.

 

His brows shoot up. “No. They’re usually passed down in a clan.”

 

She sighs. As expected. She’ll just have to return to the library then. She has some unfinished business there anyway, too curious to just ignore mysterious bookshelves and supposed Genjutsu.

 

Next to them, Naruto stirs. “Did I miss something?” He eyes them warily, evidently not trusting them to sit this closely together, then levels a glare at something behind them. Sakura cranes her neck to see. “You’re late!” He shouts.

 

“Yo!” Kakashi-sensei waves his hand casually, perched on the tree Sasuke sat on earlier.

 

Sakura shudders, thinking about how easy it was for him to sneak up on them and how long he could have been watching them. He’s their teacher, of course he’s better than them, but what if he had been an enemy nin? She needs to have a better awareness of her surroundings. 

 

Sasuke seems to be thinking the same, because he visibly tenses and his expression morphs into the indifferent mask he uses on most people. Sakura hates it vehemently, and for this, she’s glad to have Naruto on her team, because back in the academy he could easily get a rouse out of Sasuke and make him show emotions. Even if it’s just anger.

 

But she hadn’t realised that Sasuke was starting to let his guard down around her, too. 

 

Pride curls in her belly. They really are becoming a team.

 

“We have a mission,” Kakashi announces cryptically and Sakura peeks up in anticipation. “Let’s go to the Hokage’s office to pick it up.”

 

On the entire way to the building, Sakura can’t stop grinning. Their first mission!

 

Naruto squeaks, bouncing on his feet excitedly. “Is it a princess?”

 

“No, idiot. We’re Genin,” Sasuke scolds, but he scurries to the tower, too.

 

They flash the guard shinobi their registration numbers. The two Chunin snicker at Naruto’s picture. Sakura is suddenly really glad she didn’t let Naruto convince her to be photographed with heavy make-up only to be forced to re-do her picture. Naruto ended up pulling weird grimaces at the camera to somehow save the prank.

 

Sakura doesn’t bother hiding her smile widening as Kakashi tells them to go through the front door before he hauls himself through a third-floor window, uncaring about the shattered glass he leaves in his wake. “Sensei is really weird,” she announces, pushing open the door to the revered building she never stepped foot in before.

 

Sasuke grunts in agreement, and Naruto shoots past her like a lightning bolt, not paying attention to the impressive décor of the tower. High above them, there’s a citadel with vibrant glass ornaments and the walls surrounding them bleed colour and gold. There are wooden statues everywhere and Sakura feels compelled to reach out to all of them and follow their carved spines. 

 

But the tree. Oh, the tree.

 

In the centre of the hall it towers and grows into the walls with its branches of green and light and life. It breathes and Sakura can’t tear her eyes away from this beating heart of Konoha.

 

She feels small and humbled and, at the same time, she hears the voices of thousands of people whispering into her ears, calling on her to protect.

 

Somehow, she knows. This tree is something ancient, something sacred.

 

Sasuke has to steer her up the stairs, past the mission desk and into the Hokage’s office.

 

It’s much plainer than the entrance hall. Every room has its use.

 

Naruto wears a scowl, pacing the room, while Kakash-sensei’s nose is buried deep in his book. It’s battered and worn. There are yellow fingerprints at the edges of the pages and it’s the same book he’s been reading for a week. He catches her incredulous stare and winks.

 

“Old man!” Naruto whines. “Can you tell me our mission now?”

 

The Hokage looks fragile in his thick robes behind his gigantic desk, but he chuckles and it fills the entire room. Sakura recognizes his thinly veiled amusement at Naruto’s antics and relaxes ever so slightly. “Of course,” the Third agrees. “Kakashi?”

 

Their teacher doesn’t look up. “Team 7 reporting for their first mission.”

 

The Hokage hums, stacking through the papers on his desk. “Let me see what I have for you. At this point of the day there’s only catching Tora and watering the crops on the Kobayashi family fields left.”

 

With every word she can see Naruto’s expression sagging. Sakura thinks it’s hilarious. She just knew he hadn’t listened to Iruka’s lecture before the teams were announced. Did he really expect a princess?

 

“We’d love to help the Kobayashi out,” She chimes in bravely.

 

Kakashi-sensei nods. The Hokage smiles at her, acknowledging her decision with the ink-dipped strokes of a brush, and dismisses them.

 

Naruto picks himself up with a protest on his tongue and trots down the stairs.

 

She laughs at him and he flips her off. “Manners!” Kakashi-sensei calls and she feels smug at the reprieve.

 

The Jounin and her hang back, watching Naruto drag himself out of the building and Sasuke quietly following.

 

“It’s curry, you know,” he tells her like it's a secret, holding up his book, and Sakura flushes. “The pack loves it.”

 

She pouts. “When do we get to see them?”

 

He tucks the book away and ruffles her hair. “Soon.”

 

The Kobayashi are a kind farmer family and they are invited to lunch during one of their breaks. Sakura wolfs down her serving and calls for a second one, only to realize that Sasuke and Naruto are attacking their fourth bowl of soup. She smiles contently and engages one of the civilian children bustling around the table in a conversation.

 

Somehow this devolves into a food fight, started by Asahi and enacted by Naruto and Sasuke, mainly. When things calm down, she makes sure they help with the clean-up while she quietly picks up on the field work. Idiots.

 

Kakashi shows her a water distribution jutsu for her troubles, and Sakura practices it on the crops, careful not to drown them. Her teacher flashes her a thumbs up when she gets it working.

 

At the end of the day, Kobayashi Haru hands them small baskets with freshly-plucked apples, which they graciously accept.

 

She feels warm on her way home, despite the cutting wind.

 

(When Sakura flops down on her bed she discovers a scroll on her pillow. When she squints she can see faint yellow curry stains on it. Inside, she will find instructions to a fighting style.)  



	6. Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Genin becomes more of a teacher than his own.  
> His teammate realises that the trust he once put into adults' hands didn't amount to much.  
> The third takes matters into her own hands.

A month passes and little happens.

Her sensei is going to be late, and Sakura wouldn't mind dragging herself out of bed early to practice the ridiculously difficult Taijutsu moves he left her, except she's far too exhausted from mission work, and her brain needs more rest to function properly.

“You need to push them into your head and stop hesitating, Sakura,” Sasuke tells her gently yet again, and she bites down hard on her tongue not to snap at him because, _duh, you're not exactly helping._

Except he is, has been sparring with her almost every day, figuring out the katas, because god forbid their teacher actually bothers adjusting her stances himself. They're useful, supposed to be particularly fluid, but she feels so awkward and rigid imitating them, unlike Sasuke, who – of course – doesn't have a hard time like the graceful bastard he is. She's supposed to move into a new stance, but she keeps forgetting where to put her feet, how to push and pull and bend in the right direction.

Kakashi-sensei is such an idiot genius, it makes her want to tear her hair out. Of course he'd think a scroll is an adequate substitute for an actual person's instructions. He probably works just fine with that.

Sakura sighs, forcing herself to her feet, muscles cramping like karma. “Okay, okay, stop sulking,” she tells herself as she stumbles to her closet and pulls out a fresh pair of pants – she didn't even care enough to take hers off yesterday – and a clean shirt.

The scroll is better than nothing, she did land in a fairly good diving grapple hook just this week. She's improving, Sasuke's helping and her teacher tries, so she supposes it's alright. At least that's what she keeps telling herself when she's torn between the the urge to bang her head against a tree and the need punch one of the boys.

Her yawn is deep and jaw-cracking as she shuffles out of her clothes and into the shower, glancing at the clock next to the bathroom mirror. 9:37 glares back at her and she hurriedly gets to scrubbing.

* * *

By the time she's made it to Team Seven's assigned training ground, Naruto is tossing shuriken somewhere, and she really hopes he doesn't mean to hit the target, because they're off by a large margin. 

“No, you idiot. I told you you're flicking your wrist wrong,” Sasuke drawls next to him, spinning a shuriken of his own in his hands. “Watch,” he says listlessly, and her eyes are drawn to the sudden jolt to his palms as he lets go of the projectile and it buries itself deep into the target's centre.

Sakura crosses the clearing to where they're standing. They don't notice her.

“But that's wrong! I can do it like this just fine! They showed me at the Academy!” Naruto exclaims, shame colouring his face in a flush.

Sakura shakes her head. Naruto doesn't lie about things like these. But what he's implying here – that's a serious case of neglect. 

Sasuke scowls in frustration. “Results speak for themselves, dead last.”

And sure, his form is poor when it comes to throwing, but why would anyone go out of their way to deliberately sabotage a soon-to-be Konoha nin? That's ridiculous.

“Oh, hi Sakura!” Naruto tackles her in a hug, burying his nose in the crease of her neck, and it's not the first time that she wonders how anyone could have let a little boy grow up so touch-starved. She gives his shoulders a squeeze, and gently pushes him away.

“Morning guys,” she greets, brushing up against Sasuke with her fingertips. He stiffens, but he doesn't call her out on it and gingerly acknowledges her with a tilt to his head.

She stretches her legs out on the grass, hands tugging at her feet and chin pressed against her knees.

Naruto huffs above her. “Please tell Sasuke he's being stupid, not everyone's as perfect as he is. Besides, my aim works just fine. See?” Sakura straightens her upper body. A shuriken slides out of his right hand and it clutters to the ground a few metres short of the target.

She winces and offers him a half-shrug. At her expression, he protests, “I meant to do that!”

“Very effective,” Sasuke snorts and Sakura wrestles down the smile tugging at her lips.

“Sasuke's right,” she says. “You're doing it wrong.”

“But that's what – they told me to do it like this!” Naruto insists, eyes darting around wildly, and then he sacks in on himself, sinking to the ground dejectedly. “That's how they told me to do it,” he repeats, quieter this time.

Sasuke doesn't pick up on it. “They must have been even dumber than you are.”

But Naruto doesn't rise to the bait, instead he draws his knees closer to his chest. Worry stalks across Sasuke's face. “Naruto-” he begins, but trails off. He settles down next to him and pointedly looks away.

Heavy silence settles like a blanket above them, and it's not one bit comforting.

“Right,” she echoes without conviction, bending forward to continue stretching, but her teammates aren't really listening. “They must have been just that.”

* * *

Kakashi shows up two hours later, a cheerful tint to his voice that holds the promise of work. “Hello, my cute little Genin! How are we today, hmm? Not in a good mood? Ah, you see, I don't really care.” He winks at her – it's too deliberate to be an innocent blink – and continues without missing a beat. “I've got great news for you! We are doing two D-ranks today, but first I want you to run five laps around the village!”

He holds his belly with a grumble, adding, “I get your lunch if you're not back here in ten minutes.”

Sakura gapes, wasting precious time as the world comes crashing down on her, before she becomes self-aware, scrambling to her feet to chase after Sasuke, Naruto hot on her heels.

Running is familiar though, and she's not sure why Kakashi has them do so many laps when he knows Sasuke's performance will always be stellar, Naruto has the biggest stamina out of all of them, and Sakura's been doing track for years now.

She's pretty sure he has no idea what he's supposed to be doing.

So far, she's learned a total of three minor techniques, which is more than the boys did, but their Sensei keeps having them spar with each other while she watches from the sidelines. He claims that she needs to learn the basics of her new style first. 

Pakkun growls at him when he does that until he sighs, folds his book shut and grudgingly starts playing the part of her opponent, barely keeping his eye open as she goes through the same sequences again and again and again. By the end of it, he drags his palms through her hair and gives it a tumble, and she stands just a little bit straighter.

The sense of achievement lasts her through the obligatory D-ranks, but it doesn't linger.

Kakashi-sensei needs to start actually teaching them something, but she doubts he'll change his approach without someone actually walking up to him and shoving it into his face – he's not doing right by any of them! It's so frustrating, and Sakura doesn't know what to do, because he's her military superior and toeing out of line is a dangerous game that might work for the only Uzumaki in Konoha, but not for her no-name civilian self.

Naruto is an oblivious sunshine who means well and she's grown genuinely fond of him to the point where she starts glaring at anyone who dares to badmouth him. He's still unabashedly loud, but nevertheless he's got a protective streak rivalling her own.

The Sasuke situation is just as complicated. Her crush on has has subsided once she realized he'd never look at her like that, and that she'd much rather be his comrade. He's familiar enough with her by now to trust himself to relax around her. But he still freezes up sometimes and his breathing quickens, and he disappears for a day or two.

For all their faults and flaws, they're her team, and that means they're family.

She wants to help them get better so badly, but she's sensible enough to know things like these take time, and so she doesn't push despite how restless she gets.

Sakura pushes herself though, past limits and pain and hopelessness. Truth is, she's getting better, and yeah, she's not as good as Sasuke at fighting, or as creative at trapping as Naruto, but she doesn't want to be just like them, either. 

She's got a mean punch and chakra like a fine thread running through her body at her beck and call.

So she tells her reflection in the mirror one night, “Screw it.” She runs straight to Kakashi-sensei's apartment and kicks the door down. Her teacher is busy sucking some man's face off, and warning sirens go off in her head.

She sensibly covers her eyes, screeching, _“Sensei!”_

Something heavy thuds against the ground, and Kakashi-sensei sharply growls, “Out,” and she's not sure if he means her – but apparently he doesn't, because heavy footsteps race past her and the door slams shut behind them. 

“You can look now,” Kakashi-sensei tells her drily.

She squints at his covered face warily, struggling to temper her voice, “That was _gross._ ”

He lets out a faint giggle. “Soon, my student, soon you'll disco-”

Next to him, Bisuke barks. “Sakura, you're wearing pajamas. Do your parents even know you're here?”

“Oh. No?” Sakura tries. She knew she'd forgotten something!

Kakashi pouts. “Well, why is my cute little student paying me a visit at such a late hour?”

Sakura glares at him, stepping closer. She knows how ridiculous this is, but she doesn't care. It has to be said by someone. 

“Because you need to start teaching us for real. Naruto's just glad you talk to him sometimes, which is more than can be said for most adults. He adores you, and you're not even showing him how to properly throw a kunai. Sasuke hasn't learned anything at all because he's been busy trying to catch us up. I think it's good for him, but he shouldn't be forced to pick up that work. It's not right, that's _your_ job.” She folds her arms crossed.

Kakashi flinches, actually flinches. He looks away. “You don't really want me to teach you,” he mumbles.

Sakura swallows. There's something humbling about seeing her teacher like this. It's wrong. 

She doesn't know what to say to him, but she knows she has to say something. Maybe she should go for a hug, but she doesn't think he'd want her to. Suddenly, rank means nothing and the truth tumbles out of her mouth.

“Of course we do! Listen, you might be pretty dumb for a genius, and you kind of suck as a teacher, but that's because you don't even try. We want to learn from you. You're very strong, no one's denying that. But you have to stop living in your head,” Sakura spells out for him, shocked at her own bluntness, but unwilling to back down.

He looks at her dumbfounded, and she turns around, shuffling towards the door. “Think about it, sensei,” she adds before she closes the door behind her. “We need you.”

* * *

Sometimes, when she's home alone, doubts cloud her thoughts. She dreams and tosses then and Pakkun pads into her bedroom as if he smells it on her from all across the village. Maybe he does. He bumps his snout against her sweaty palm in reassurance, and picks up the treat she keeps for him on her night stand. 

He curls up next to her head and lets her pat him for hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!! it's been a while ~~I know.~~
> 
> a lot has happened (I graduated, for instance) and I like to think I've been using my time productively.
> 
> also I went over previous chapters (again), a little horrified about the appaling grammar. I think most of it is fixed now.
> 
> I really hope that I will start being more consistent with updates. writing comes more easily to me now, but I only really have time to myself on weekends, so I can't make any promises.
> 
> this chapter is a little on the shorter side, mainly because I need to get a feeling for this story again and had to stretch my legs a bit, metaphorically speaking.
> 
> it touches on a few darker things, things that had to be addressed, because they're very real. little fluff, I know, but take comfort in the fact that sasuke's going out of his way to help sakura and naruto -- which is a huge leap from canon already! kakashi just needed a little wake-up call.
> 
> it's important that deceptively easy solutions don't really wrap things up (the hug at the end of chapter one, the scroll left behind last chapter), and that there will continue to be setbacks. the members of team seven will try hard to be their best selves, but there will always be events they can't predict, and it's going to be a bumpy ride.
> 
> anyway what are your thoughts? (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑

**Author's Note:**

> wow, you guys are such an inspiration!  
> thank you for the awesome support!!
> 
> looking for a [conversation with me](https://discord.gg/mCgCjTK)?  
> 


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